Roofing structure



1963 E. v. A. E. MACQUERE 3,

ROOFING STRUCTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 12, 1960 INVENTOR.

EUGENE V.A.E. MACQUERE ATT NEYS Dec. 17, 1963 I E. v. A. E. MACQUERE3,114,218

ROOFING STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 12, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 I i l l I I I II I50 I I l; I l 5 i I 5 I I T i 5 I- I I I 9 i I I l I l i I I I I u lI i E F.2- q- A I I 0 I I lOu .5 I l I I l I INVENTOR.

J I EUGENE V.A.E. MACQUERE ATT NEYS 1963 v. A. E. MACQUERE 3,114,213

ROOFING STRUCTURE Filed Feb. 12, 1960 s Sheets-Sheet a INVENTOR- EUGENEV.A. E. MACQUERE ZZMMW ATTO EYS United States Patent 3,114,218 ROUFIN GSTRUCTURE Eugene V. A. E. Macquere. Le Vesinet. Seineet-Uise. France,assignor to Compagnie de Saint-Goliain, Paris,

France Filed Feb. 12, 1960, Ser. No. 8,283 Claims priority, applicationFrance Feb. 19, 1959 4 Claims. (Cl. 50--198) This invention relates to aroof made of roof-covering pieces made of plastic material. Morespecifically, the roof of the invention is made up of a plurality ofroofing tiles which automatically lock onto the battens of the roofframe, adjacent tiles overlapping at their edges to form a tight roofcovering. In the roof structure specifically shown, the tiles includegenerally flat tiles for covering the broad surface of the roof, andridge tiles for covering a peak of the roof.

Ceramic roof-covering tiles heretofore used have had a number of seriousdisadvantages: they are fragile, they are not transparent, they areheavy, and they are expensive to transport. Tiles made of plasticmaterial have not been widely used because of their lightness and thelack of satisfactory means to secure them to each other and to the frameof the roof.

The present invention has among its objects the provision of rigidplastic tiles of such shape and elasticity that the tile assemblyforming the roof provides a perfectly tight, solidly anchored roof.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment shown herein, the broadtiles have incurved flanges on their upper and lower ends, such flangesbeing half-closed and curved back on themselves; such tiles also have araised portion midway of their lower edge. The ridge tiles have incurvedflanges extending longitudinally of their lower edges, such incurvedflanges also being half-closed and curved back on themselves. The broadtiles and ridge tiles can be rapidly afiixed upon the frame of the roofand to each other in an overlapping or nesting fashion. Such overlap issecured by providing enlargements on their lateral edges, suchenlargements on successive tiles overlapping so as to assure thetightness of the roof covering. The broad tiles are automaticallysecured to the frame of the roof by providing spaced battens or crossmembers on the roof, such battens having a cross section such that thetiles may be locked thereon, the battens being spaced vertically on theroof regular distances corresponding generally to the vertical dimensionof the tiles.

There is shown herein, merely as a preferred embodiment of theinvention, one form of broad, roof-covering tiles and ridge tiles inaccordance with the invention.

In the drawings accompanying the specification and forming a partthereof:

FIG. 1 is a view in plan of a broad, roof-covering tile made inaccordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a view in transverse section through such tile, the sectionbeing taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in longitudinal section through such tile, the sectionbeing taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view in plan of a ridge tile;

FIG. 5 is a view in transverse section through the ridge tile, thesection being taken along line 55 of FIG. 4;

PEG. 6 is a View in vertical section through a roof provided with thebroad roof-covering tiles and ridge tiles of the illustrated embodimentof the invention; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view in perspective of the roof on FIG. 6.

In the embodiment shown, each broad tile 1 is, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2,and 3, of rectangular shape. Such tile is made of relatively thinplastic material, as shown. On each longitudinal edge, the tile 1 has anopen-sided inwardly or downwardly open hollow enlargement, the size ofthe enlargement on the two edges being different so that an enlargement2 fits fairly accurately within an enlargement 3. The enlargements shownare in the form of inverted channels. The smaller enlargement 2 of tile1 fits within the larger enlargement 3 of the adjoining tile when thetiles are laid on the roof. Preferably the area of overlap does notexceed 5% of the total area of the outer surface of the tile. The upperedge of the tile is of bent or folded shape so as to form a downwardlyor inwardly open semi-closed, reentrant angled flange 4. The outer sideof the flange leaves the plane of the broad extent of the tile, is bentbackwardly somewhat, and is then curved forwardly and then inwardly, asshown at 5 in FIG. 2. The end of flange 5 is disposed substantiallyinwardly of the broad extent of the tile, generally parallel thereto,and extending away from the body of the tile. As will be more fullyexplained in connection with FIG. 6, the tile can be sprung somewhat, byreason of the elasticity of the tile, so as to be affixed to the battensof the roof by the upper and lower flanges on the tile.

The lower edge of tile l. is bent or folded back on itself to form adownwardly or inwardly open semiclosed, reentrant angled hook-likeflange 7. Flange 7 fits over the lower edge of a batten 16, as shown inFIG. 6. Batten 16 may be the lowermost batten on the roof (FIG. 6), oran intermediate batten, assuming that more than two (horizontal) rows oftiles are employed on the roof. The enlargements 2 and 3, along thelongitudinal edges of the tile 1, at the location of the flange 4, 5, 6,at the top of the tile, and of flange 7, at the bottom of the tile, haveshapes similar to those of the respective flanges. Each tile 1 has aslightly raised zone 3 at the center of its lower edge. Zone 8 may be ofa convenient or desired shape; it is slightly larger than the largerenlargement 3 of the title so that the upper end of enlargement 3 of thenext lower tile may be received within such raised zone 8, as shown inFIG. 7, when the tiles 1 are assembled on a roof frame with successiverows of tiles staggered, or out of alignment, by a distance equal toone-half the width of the tiles.

The ridge tiles 9, shown in FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, are of a length equal totwice the width of tiles 1, so that the ridge tiles may overlap one fulltile and one-half of each of the tiles on each side of such full tile.Tiles 9 are generally semi-circular in shape. On each of itslongitudinal edges tile 9 is provided with a flange 10, itla. Each suchflange is in the shape of an inwardly open, reentrant angled hook, thebody of the hook being bent somewhat backwardly at 11 toward the body ofthe tile and then being bent outwardly, then downwardly, and finallyinwardly. At its lower end, each flange is bent sharply outwardly to liegenerally horizontal, as shown in FIG. 5. The flanges 10, 19a are ofsuch configuration as snugly and fairly accurately to receive the flange4 of the uppermost row of broad tiles, as shown in FIG. 6.

Tiles 9 have on each of their sides an enlargement, one enlargement 12being large and the other enlargement 13 being smaller. Enlargements l2,13 are similar to enlargements 3 and 2, respectively, on tiles 1, andare designed to interfit or nest therewith to form a tight roofcovering. The larger enlargement 12 extends through the flanges ill,The; the smaller enlargement 13, on the other hand, stops at the flangesIltl, ltla. A narrow transverse groove 14 is positioned betweenenlargement 13 and the body of tile 9.

At a distance of one-half the width of a tile 1 from its ends, eachridge tile i has enlargements 15, 15a which are a little larger in sizethan the enlargements 3 of tiles 1. Enlargements 15, 15a extend acrossflanges l0, fltla; enlargements 15, 15a permit the enlargements on theadjoining tiles to be received therewith, whereby the ridge tiles 9 andthe broad tiles 1 are nested and locked together when assembled asshown.

The tiles It are mounted on the roof frame in horizontal rows, thebottom row being mounted first, followed by succeeding horizontal rows,as in laying regular tiles. The battens employed with the tiles of thepresent invention, however, are of special shape. The lowermost batten16 has a generally rectangular section; the lower outer edge of batten16 is first rounded and is then flat (FIG. 6) so as to present a surfacelying at a reentrant angle with respect to the upper surface of thebatten, whereby such surface lockingly interfits with the inner surfaceof lower flanges '7 of tiles 1. The other, upper battens 17 have thesame thickness as batten 11.6. Battens 17 have their upper edgeschamfered at a suitable reentrant angle with respect to the uppersurface of the batten, as shown, whereby lockingly to interfit with thelower inner portion of flange 4 at the upper end of each tile 1. Thebattens are so spaced as to hold the tiles under a light tension,whereby the tiles 1 are held securely on the frame of the roof. Theenlargement 2 of each tile 1 covers the smaller enlargement 3 of theadjacent tile.

Each succeeding higher row of tiles 1 is staggered with respect to theadjoining lower row by a distance equal to one-half the width oftiles 1. The lower flanges 7 of the next higher row of tiles la overlieand interlock with the flanges 4- on the upper ends of the lower tiles 1(FIG. 6). The upper ends of tiles in overlie and are locked upon abatten 17a, which is similar to batten 17. The resulting roof appears asit is shown fragmentarily in FIG. 7.

The ridge tiles 9 are nested and interlocked with the upper tiles oneach side of the peak of the roof, the flanges 10, 1011 being snappedover the flanges 4 on the uppermost row of tiles 1a, the flanges 19, 10aresiliently yielding sufliciently to permit such mode of assembly. Anyspace that remains uncovered on the roof is covered by a half-tile.

Because the broad tiles and ridge tiles are not fragile, they are easilytransported; their assembly is also very simple. Such tiles may be madeof different rigid plastic materials such as polyvinyl chloride,shock-resistant polystyrene, polymethylmethacrylate, high densitypolyethylene, mixtures of suitable plastic materials, polyester resins,statified resins, etc. Such tiles may be transparent, opaque, orcolored. When the tiles are colored, they may be of uniform color orpolychrome, and such variously colored tiles may be assembled in variouspatterns, as desired.

The rigid plastic tiles l and 9 do not absorb water, and so cannot bedamaged by freezing weather. Such tiles cannot ordinarily be injured bycorrosive media, since chemical agents generally do not attack theplastic material of which they are made. Such tiles also are slipperyand have an anticryptogarnic action, that is, are resistant to plantswhich do not produce flowers or seeds, such as. ferns, moss, and algae.

Because of such properties, roofs made of such tiles may have a lowslope or pitch without sacrificing their tightness, since water cannotpenetrate them by capillary action.

The frame of the roof can be made much lighter than with the usual roofcoverings, since the weight of the tiles is very low. This decrease inweight of the roof is: not undesirable, however, because of thetightness with which the tiles are attached to the main members of the:roof frame by the battens. The broad tiles and ridge tiles. are easilybut securely assembled after the battens have been put in place. Nonails or hooks are necessary in such assembly. The tiles are locked toeach other, thereby forming them into a unitary roof structure.

The tiles of the present invention may be used on all types ofbuildings, and are particularly useful for buildings of lightconstruction such as greenhouses, hangars, shops, terraces, etc.

Although only one embodiment of the invention hasbeen illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and de scribed in the foregoing specification, itis to be especially understood that various changes, such as in therelative dimensions of the parts, materials used, and the like, as wellas the suggested manner of use of the apparatus of the invention, may bemade therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention as will now be apparent to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A roof structure comprising an inclined supporting structure, aplurality of horizontally extending battens secured in spaced apart rowsto said supporting structure, a plurality of partially overlappingsimilar resilient tiles made of plastic material and arranged inoverlapping parallel horizontal rows with the ends of each tile in eachrow overlying adjacent battens in at least two adjacent rows of saidspaced apart rows, each tile being retained under tension between saidadjacent battens, a downwardly open resilient first formation on one endof each tile and a downwardly open resilient second formation on theopposite end of each tile, one portion of the resilient first formationon each tile resiliently interlocked with one of said battens which itoverlies, the resilient second formation on each tile overlying andresiliently interlocked with a second portion of the resilient firstformation on a tile in the vertically adjacent row of tile wherein eachtile in each row is removably retained in position under tension.

2. A roof structure as defined in claim 1 wherein each tile hasdownwardly open channel formations extending along each of its sideedges, one of said side channel formations being of greater crosssection than the other, the larger side channel having an upper surfacelying substantially above the broad upper surface of each tile, andwherein the side channels of horizontally adjacent tiles in each row oftiles are overlapped with the smaller channel on one tile underlying andreceived within the larger channel on the said adjacent tiles.

3. A roof structure as defined in claim 2 wherein tiles in succeedinghorizontal rows of tiles are staggered so that the side edges of thetiles in each horizontal row of tiles are out of alignment with the sideedges of the tiles in adjacent horizontal rows, a short downwardly opencap-like formation secured to the end of each tile overlying saidresilient second formation, and said cap-like formation positionedtransversely on said tile end for receiving therewithin the upper end ofsaid larger side channel on the vertically adjacent tile in the adjacentrow of tiles.

4. A roof structure comprising an inclined supporting structure, aplurality of parallel horizontally extending battens secured in spacedapart rows to said supporting structure, a plurality of resilient tilesmade of plastic material and arranged in horizontal rows with the endsof each tile in each row overlying at least two adjacent battens in saidspaced apart rows, one end of the tiles in each row overlapping thetiles in the vertically adjacent row of tiles, each tile being retainedunder tension between said adjacent battens, a downwardly open resilientfirst formation on one end of each tile and a downwardly open resilientsecond formation on the opposite end of each tile, said first and secondformations being integrally formed with said tile, one portion of theresilient first formation on each tile being resiliently interlockedwith one of said battens which it overlies, the resilient secondformation on each tile overlying and resiliently interlocked with asecond portion of the resilient first formation on a tile in thevertically adjacent row of tiles wherein each tile in each row isremovably retained in position under tension.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Michelet a1 Aug. 13, Moornaw May 5, Orlikowski et al. June 4, Latulip Dec. 29,Jannoch Nov. 22, Fosseen Apr. 5, Richmond June 25, Loucks Mar. 6,Bennett June 1, Bumpas et al May 30, Godel Aug. 10, Kiefer Mar. 1, HarrySept. 23,

FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Ian. 15,

1. A ROOF STRUCTURE COMPRISING AN INCLINED SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, A PLURALITY OF HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING BATTENS SECURED IN SPACED APART ROWS TO SAID SUPPORTING STRUCTURE, A PLURALITY OF PARTIALLY OVERLAPPING SIMILAR RESILIENT TILES MADE OF PLASTIC MATERIAL AND ARRANGED IN OVERLAPPING PARALLEL HORIZONTAL ROWS WITH THE ENDS OF EACH TILE IN EACH ROW OVERLYING ADJACENT BATTENS IN AT LEAST TWO ADJACENT ROWS OF SAID SPACED APART ROWS, EACH TILE BEING RETAINED UNDER TENSION BETWEEN SAID ADJACENT BATTENS, A DOWNWARDLY OPEN RESILIENT FIRST FORMATION ON ONE END OF EACH TILE AND A DOWNWARDLY OPEN RESILIENT SECOND FORMATION ON THE OPPOSITE END OF EACH TILE, ONE PORTION OF THE RESILIENT FIRST FORMATION ON EACH TILE RESILIENTLY INTERLOCKED WITH ONE OF SAID BATTENS WHICH IT OVERLIES, THE RESILIENT SECOND FORMATION ON EACH TILE OVERLYING AND RESILIENTLY INTERLOCKED WITH A SECOND PORTION OF THE RESILIENT FIRST FORMATION ON A TILE IN THE VERTICALLY ADJACENT ROW OF TILE WHEREIN EACH TILE IN EACH ROW IS REMOVABLY RETAINED IN POSITION UNDER TENSION. 